Love Walter Williams Rip. Loved it when he took over Rush's show. Loved reading his syndicated column. He was brilliant.
For whatever reason, I can't get to your googlegroups link, and your third link is that letter I referred to about Madison 30 years later opposing secession.
Now some things you may or may not know. Madison was on Virginia's ratifying committee and the committee approved the Verbiage on Virginia's ratification statement which said they could take back their powers from the Federal government.
Some time ago, perhaps a year or so, someone acquainted me with a statement Madison said a day or so after Virginia released it's ratification language.
In that statement Madison denied that states had a right to leave.
I cannot put my finger on that statement, but someone showed it to me and I believe it exists.
I did learn a few things about Madison while studying the "natural born citizen" issue.
Madison will say whatever he believes furthers his political goals, and he will sometimes contradict his past position on a topic because he needs to persuade opinion to go the other way.
In the case of William Loughton Smith, Madison said that simply being born in America made him a citizen.
In the case of James McClure, Madison denied that being born here made him a citizen.
Smith was a political ally, and McClure was a very grave political threat.
Oh. I so loved Walter Williams. Thanks for the response.